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Weekly Photo challenge: Monument

On the 14th of June 1645, the New Model Army under the command of Cromwell, Ireton and Fairfax, ( some 14,000 strong) took on the Royalist army, under the command of Prince Rupert of the Rhine (7,000 men and horse) in the fields around the village of Naseby.

It was the decisive battle of the war; Rupert miscalculated badly, focussing his attack not on the main battle but on the cavalry. And while he had the upper hand in this area routing the parliamentary forces, by the time Rupert returned his attention to the main event, Parliament had turned the battle to their advantage. King Charles was never able to replace his losses, and although it took another year for Parliament to win the civil war; their victory at Naseby made the English Republic, and Charles’ death a certainty.

Nowadays, drivers pass the signs on the A14 at 70 miles an hour or more. If they see the brown marker, as they hurtle by, they may wonder what happened at Naseby. They will not see this monument though – it resides just outside the village, near Fairfax’s view ( the vantage point from which Parliament controlled their cavalry).

If you’re driving down the a14 (near Daventry) and you see the brown sign for the Battle of Nasbey do divert and visit the battlefield. As you can see from the map it’s quite a wide area. But it’s free, well sign posted; there’s plenty of parking, and the history is in bite size chunks at each stop off point – and you were passing anyway, right? 🙂